AuthorTopic: Best Kick Drum Mic? (Read 103318 times)

It all starts with the drum and the player. I'm a Sennheiser E902 with a E901 on the inside junkie. Although I've watched FOH guys get amazing sounds with the Beta 52/91 combo. Check out the Heil PR48 if you get a chance, probably the only other mic that I'd use besides the Sennheiser E902.

On a normal day, I have a wide variety of mics available. I try to choose the one that compliments the instrument, drummer's style, genre, etc. One night might require a 91 in/D6 out, while the next might require an M88 on an intact resonant head. Or a CAD E100. Or a D112. Or a transformerless SM58. Or a pair of DPA 4061's with no kick or any other close mic. Don't limit your options!

It's funny, the thing up on stage that has the narrowest range gets a whole lot of attention.When I was hauling gear and asking sage sound people I was always told ..."If you can't get a decent kick drum sound with an SM57 or 58 then your rig/gig ratio is probably off."

If you've worn the silkscreen off your 57 then you should know no one goes home singing the kick drum.Well, except maybe the crowd I had tonight.

Gate it, flip polarity, tune the drum, mic the beater side, use 2 mics, change the pillow, aux feed the kick channel, cut a hole in the head, use it to key the bass compressor, PZM omni hypercardiod phantom that sucker. Just don't settle for inferior kick, there's always an excuse to buy a microphone.